Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Real Estate Battle Royale


And by "royale", I mean that royalty is literally involved here.

The Astor trial is winding down. All the juicy details have been spilled, all the celebrities and high-profile witnesses have testified, all the name-calling and finger-pointing has occurred, and now a jury of twelve regular New Yorkers will decide the fate of Brooke Astor's son and his lawyer. But as this sordid tale of people taking advantage of the elderly for financial gain comes to and end, and if it wasn't gross enough for you, feast your eyes on this bit of only-in-New York contretemps.

The family of a man named Walter Pincus, a once high-flying hedge fund guru now incapacitated and unable to speak, is suing and being sued and going through legal and personal hell with the woman that Pincus has been shacked up with for the last thirteen years: Princess Firyal, an aging beauty once married to the son of a King of Jordan. She is battling Pincus's son for control (and the right to live in) a duplex in the Pierre valued at $50 million!

The sons want to sell the place and give the proceeds to charity. The Princess wants to keep living in it. There have been deals and promises made and broken, memories dredged up and conveniently forgotten, and bribes offered and retracted. It's a depressing, titillating, smack-your-head I-can't-believe it story of greed and ego that proves the point that some people have wayyyyyyyy too much money for their or anyone else's good.

Read it and weep ... and laugh.

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